Engagement Trip
by Klutzygirl33
Summary: Future fic. Alex and Jo go on vacation to celebrate their engagement and encounter Izzie.


**I don't own Grey's Anatomy and never will. No copyright infringement intended.**

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Alex and Jo wanted to get away to celebrate their engagement and chose Charleston, South Carolina as their destination (after he shot down Florida, because in his words, "too many old people there"). It seemed like a great, historical place to visit. "We'll have fun," Jo told him.

"I hope you're right." He wanted the woman he loved – his brand new fiancée – to enjoy their trip. That was tremendously important to him.

She grabbed Alex's arm. "Relax, okay? Nothing is going to go wrong."

Alex blinked at her. "You just jinxed us. Now something _is _going to go wrong and all because you said that." He did laugh, though.

Jo grinned. "You're probably right, but who cares? We're getting married, Alex. We're celebrating our engagement away from the prying eyes of our best friends so we can enjoy it before we get bombarded with plans."

"Yeah, that's going to suck." Alex wanted to elope since he had already been through this once before, but he also wanted Jo to have the wedding she deserved. She wasn't up for a big wedding, but Jo definitely desired having their friends there.

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Come on, let's go shopping."

He groaned. "Do we have to?" He didn't want to be dragged on a shopping trip. Alex especially didn't want to hunt for souvenirs – why did everyone else get presents just because they went away? And he realized he was being slightly hypocritical when other people went on vacation and brought him back, but he honestly didn't care.

"Yes. It's required when you go on vacations, and I don't care how much you complain." She batted her eyes at him and tried to act innocently.

Alex didn't buy it, but he gave in anyway. He grabbed and let Jo lead the way to a row of stores so they could pick up a few things. They started browsing the racks. He stood there, bored out of his mind, until Jo called his name and forced him to leave the spot he had chosen. He exchanged knowing glances with a guy who also seemed bored. "Can we go back to the hotel and eat soon?" he questioned about an hour and a half later.

"Why don't we eat out tonight instead of getting room service? It'll be cheaper. Hopefully, anyway." Now that he had mentioned something, Jo was starving. As if on cue, her stomach growled. She cracked a smile. "Come on. You know what restaurant I've been wanting to try!"

He had promised her they'd go before they left so now was apparently the time. His feet were pounding, and Alex didn't feel like walking, but he followed her out of the store. Alex hated carrying their multiple bags, but he didn't complain. Hopefully Jo had gotten shopping out of her system now, and they could celebrate their engagement by having marathon sex in their room until it was time to leave. That sounded like an awesome idea and he couldn't wait to pitch it to her (she'd totally up for it). "I hope they have great food," he grumbled.

"They will. Do you remember when I made you check out the menu online before we left? There's plenty of stuff there you'll eat." Jo beamed at him and linked their hands. She was about to talk about what she planned to get when Alex stopped dead in his tracks. She stopped a few feet ahead of him. "What is it?"

Alex stared at his ex-wife and tried to say something, but came up blank. Izzie took it out of his hands "Alex?" The man next to her looked confused.

"Izzie? What are you doing here?"

Jo froze when she heard the name – she knew exactly who this was. She gently slid her hand out of Alex's. "You going to introduce us?"

Alex snapped out of it. "Izzie Stevens, this is my fiancée, Jo Wilson. Jo, this is my ex-wife, Izzie Stevens."

Izzie waved at Jo. "Nice to meet you, Jo. This is my boyfriend, Max Martin."

"Nice to meet you." Alex automatically hated the man, but struggled not to let it show. He linked his hand with Jo's again.

"You too." Max nervously smiled, unsure of what to do. He knew about his girlfriend's ex-husband, but he never expected to meet the man.

"I've heard a lot about you," Jo told Izzie.

Izzie laughed nervously. "Not all bad things, I hope." She knew Alex, and he was probably pissed as hell at her. She didn't blame him and felt a little guilty for how she ended their relationship.

She shook her head. "Not all bad, so don't worry." This was her fiancé's first love and now she was floundering. This was not how she expected this day to go.

"Congratulations on your engagement! That's great news." Izzie boggled at the ring – it was beautiful and big. Alex had chosen well.

"Thank you. We're pretty happy." Alex had recovered enough that he was no longer panicking. He could deal with this awkward encounter.

"That's great news." Izzie was happy for them.

"Thank you. That's actually why we're here –the engagement happened just a few weeks ago, and Alex and I wanted to get away for a week or so to celebrate it."

"Yeah, what are you guys doing here?" Alex was curious about this weird coincidence.

So was Izzie. "Max grew up in Charleston, and we're visiting his parents. We're actually going home tomorrow."

"Oh." It made a little more sense to Alex now, but he still couldn't fully wrap his head around this. Oh well.

The four of them talked for about half an hour before going their separate ways. Jo couldn't wait to eat and was thrilled to get away from Izzie and Max. "She's nice," she murmured.

Alex shrugged. "Yeah. It was nice to see her, but I hope this never happens again." They had gotten closure in a way, so that was good.

They had both moved on, their lives going in different directions. The fact that they were happier with other people was good news. Alex and Izzie were old news while Alex and Jo couldn't wait to start their lives together.

After Alex and Jo ate, they headed back to the hotel and didn't leave until it was time for check-out a few days later. It was the best vacation either had ever been on, even with the surprise appearance of his ex-wife.


End file.
